My Favorite Ways to Beat Stress
In this week’s Stress Awareness Month blog, I’m addressing the effects stress can have on our bodies, and what we can do to combat it.
Stress hormones can trigger physilogical changes in the body, which often appear as a “flight or fight” response to something. This response evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling people and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations. However, the human body can still react to non-life threatening situations with a similar response.
These feelings don’t always feel great, and in fact, long term exposure to stress can wreak havoc on our bodies. Chronic stress can contribute to problems such as obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and can cause brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression, and addiction.
With so many external factors we have little control over, it’s important to learn habits that can aid our mind and body deal with the stress that is ever present in our modern lives. The secret is not to try to control the world around us, but how we react to it.
I’ve developed routies and experimented with a variety of tools and tricks to help keep stress under control in my life. Here are a few things that I find helpful. Try to incorporate a few into your day to day habits this month, keep a diary of the changes you experience or feel, and create your own stress busting habits!
Meditation and Minfulness: This is my favorite tool for stress relief because it can be done anywhere, any time, and doesn’t need to cost you a penny. Mindfulness practices don’t need to be lengthy, and can include mediation, deep abdominal breathing, visualization of tranquil scenes, prayer, and yoga. If you’re feeling stressed at any time during the day- take a quick break to focus on your breathe or meditation for a minute. It’s a quick way to reset your focus, and it doesn’t have to be lengthy to get the benefit.
Exercise: Strength training, HIIT, and other exercise are great ways to reduce stress while improving your health. You can also set an alarm on your phone to get up & move periodically. The key is to incorporate movement throughout your day- not just a half hour at the gym in the morning.
Reduce Exposure to Stressors: Reducing Social Media use will definitely reduce stress- trying taking at least one day off a week and/or limiting your daily hours, especially around bedtime. Limiting the amount of news you consume will also help. When you do use social media or watch the news, be mindful about what you’re consuming, and be purposeful about what you’re viewing.
Social Support: Having a strong social support system may increase longevity. It’s helpful to have others around that you trust when you’re feeling stressed. Sharing your feelings can help whatever you’re going through not feel so overwhelming.
Eating Well & Avoid Alcohol: Comfort foods may seem, well, comforting, at the time you consume them, but in the long run inflammation from a poor diet can hinder your response to stress when you need it most. And also remember that while alcohol makes you feel relaxed for a bit, it can actually increase your anxiety later, and probably isn’t the best response to stress.
These are a just a few of the things that I find helpful. There are many ways to reduce stress, and the important thing is to find what works best for you and your life. The key to developing thiese habits is showing up for yourself on a regular basis, and remembering why you’re doing it.
Be sure to let me know in the comments if you found any of these ideas helpful and/or what you do to reduce stress in your life!